Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-08
GOING FOR GAS.
A Cor pany Organizing to Discover
One OF the Most Useful Prod
ucts or Nature.
Shares Being Rapidly Taken-science Puz
zled Over the Origin of Natural Gas.
What It is Composed Of

What It is Composed Of.
The project of drilling for natural gas
in the neighberhood of this city seems to
have taken far deeper hold in the minds
! of the people than many are aware of. In
fact, SO well convinced are number of
the most practical gentlemen in the city
of the great likelihood of q successful
issue of the venture, that when
called on yesterday to prove their
faith by taking shares of the stock, they
did so readily. In fact few expressed
their willingness to take all the shares,
but the idea of Mr.. n. II. SuTen, the pro-
jector of the undertaking, is to make it as
general as possible, and to give the pub
lie ST large chance to resp whatever
benefits may accrue.
The company has been named the
Texas Natural Gas Company, and the OBJ
ject stated Is to discover and utilize natu-
| raj gas for lighting, heating and manu-
featuring. The number of shares is placed
at 800, each share $50. In a short while
yesterday, Mr.. Suren succeeGed in
getting forty shares taken,s and has
no fears but that the whole stock
will be made up quickly. As stated
in yesterdays GAZETTE, the benefits to
be derived from flowing gas well in
Fort Worth are almost incalculable. 1t
would solve the fuel problem IN twink
ling and cause the instant establishment
of manufactures Of every kind. It would
bring people and capital to the town, and
double the value of property. While, Of
course, the undertaking is attended
with some uncertainty, the prize
to be gained is worth the risk, and the
project will be pushed for all it is
worth.
In this connection the following scien-
titic account of natural gas from the
Peoria Qll.) Journal will prove of in
terest;
Portions of this state, as well as por-
tions of several others, are somewhat eX
cited over natural gas, so-called in con-
tradistinctiOn to artificial ga, which is
product of human manufacture. Natural
gas is found as is the crude petroleum,
in the beds of rock, which have been
called oil sands. There are large natural
gas fields in which no oil is found but
many wells sunk for oil even in the oil
fields turn out gas wells without any oil,
although the gas is found in regular oil
sands. So far science has been unable to
tell the origin of natural gas or oil. On
these two substances science has only
theories and no positive knowledge. One
theory is that it has been formed and is
still being formed by the action Of great
heat-frOm the supposed fiery interior of
the earth-upOn the water which finds its
way through Crevices in the rocks to
great depth, and which has become hydro
Cal BOMBED, as it is called, in it's passage
through beds of shale, etc.-the heat
vsp0rizing the water and setting free the
gases. If formed in this way the supply
will be inexhaustible. Another theory is
that it is formed by the action Of the salt
water upon the beds of limestone.
Another theory is that it is formed by the
action of internal heat and the pressure
of the rock strata which have been formed
above them upon beds of vegetation,
trees, ferns, etc, which were covered up
by sinking parts of the earth beneath
those old-time seas or oceans. This the
DRY is the same as one of those given for
the origin of Oil-and, indeed, it is most
probable that not only oil and gas, but
coal, also, has been formed by the same
process. It is agreed on all hands, the
proof being conclusive, that coal has been
pressure of the OVERLAPPING strata upon
just such beds of buried vegetation or for
ests; and as oil can be made from coal
and gas from oil, it would seem that they
are closely related, and all have had COM
mon origin, probably-the buried beds of
ancient vegetation, which were of an oily
nature, owing to the peculiar circum-
stances surrounding their growth Beds
of vegetation if buried would be thus
changed. That gas would thus rise first,
because all light gases or vapors always
seek to rise, and second, because the gas
formed in this way would be confined IN
der pressure which would force it's way
from the place where it was formed if it
could find any place of escape; just as
water, confined and heated in boiler Gin
manner corresponding to that in which
these beds of vegetation were confined and
heated), is very rapidly changed into
or-steam-Which rushes furiously
through any opening it may find. A
quart, or any other quantity of water,
will make 1000 times it's quantity or bulk
or steam; and, of course, to contne this
very much larger bulk of steam in the
space occupied by the single quart of other
ka1ssuTfty Of water, would be packing 1t 50
closely OF tightly together that it would
naturally exert atgreat pressure in order
to escape and to spread itself out to its
full size-1700 what it was before. The
temperature of natural gas is said to be
about 45 degrees as it comes from the
well. 1t is composed of carbolic acid;
Clio; carbOnic oxid, CLIO; oxygen, $40
defiant gas, l ethyric hydride, 8; marsh
gas, 81; hydrogen, %; nitrogen, 3; are
the proportions of each constituency in
100 parts Of the gas. Just how it is
formed no scientist has yet been able to
tell, but we do know that it is found in
oil sands, and sometimes with oil, some
times alone. In and around every oil
field these wells are found. It is also
known that there are large gas finds where
no oil is found. Like the oil belt, the
gas fields run parallel with the Allegheny
mountains. 1t is also fact that gas is
much more abundant upon the slopes
and SUBMITS of ridges, while oil is found
in the valleys or troughs between them
along the slopes or SUBMITS of these
ridges. This is no doubt owing probably
to the fact that gas is always seeking to
rise, and thus has accumulated along
these higher parts of the sand rock. AS
with oil, SO with natural gas; its great
storehQuse is the Pennsylvania oil regions
Notwithstanding it has been found at
various points throughout the west.